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By Joe Buscaglia

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Bills back to only two healthy TEs; starting guard injured

by Joe Buscaglia,posted Jul 31 2014 4:07PM

Merely a day removed from the Buffalo Bills getting Chris Gragg back on the practice field from his bout with heat cramps, the team once again went down to only two available tight ends for Thursday’s practice. This time around, Lee Smith joined both Scott Chandler and Tony Moeaki as the tight ends that were unable to participate throughout the afternoon session.

Smith had to miss Thursday’s practice due to what head coach Doug Marrone called a “lower body injury.” While there isn’t any indication what that injury might be or what Smith’s timetable is, he was seen sporting an athletic sleeve on his lower right leg.

Marrone also didn’t have any updated information regarding how long Chandler (groin) would be out, and it was already determined that Moeaki (hamstring) would be out for a while. Without the trio, the Bills are down to only Gragg and Dominique Jones as the available tight ends.

The team also had to spend the majority of practice without starting left guard Chris Williams available to the team. Williams suffered a toe injury early on in team drills, left with a trainer, and did not return.

In his place, the Bills shifted rookie guard Cyril Richardson over to the left side and gave the fifth-round pick most of the first-team snaps. As of Wednesday, Richardson had been splitting first-team reps at right guard with the incumbent Kraig Urbik in place of Chris Hairston, who left that practice with a back injury. Hairston was once again unable to participate on Thursday.

The Bills have only one more practice before their first preseason game of 2014. The team will be under the lights of Growney Stadium at St. John Fisher College on Friday night at 6. The practice will be open to the public, but a ticket is needed for entry.